


First Date Jitters

by ericsonclan



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Baking, F/F, First Dates, Flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27513952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Minnie is nervous for her date with Renata, the cute new huldra at school.
Relationships: Renata/Minnie (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Kudos: 4





	First Date Jitters

**Author's Note:**

> (by Laura)

When the doorbell rang, Minerva literally flew from her nest, barreling down the stairs and opening the door. Her breath came short and fast as she held the door open, feeling self-conscious about how needy she must be coming across. Still, what’s done was done and Renata didn’t seem to mind. The huldra smiled widely at Minnie, her pointed teeth prominent and her fox tail curling around her left leg. Two Halloween pumpkin buckets dangled from her right wrist. “Morning, Min. Were you waiting long?”

“Nah,” Minnie lied, trying to lean against the doorway casually. Truthfully, she hadn’t known what to do with herself for the last half hour. She’s changed three times, preened her feathers, then lay spread eagle in her nest, spouting her insecurities while Sophie tried to convince her that none of the things she feared would go wrong would actually happen. This was her first date with Renata since the harpy and huldra had made their relationship public. She wanted, no,  _ needed  _ it to go well.

Renata quirked her head to the side, clearly not believing Minnie, but shrugging and playing along just the same. “You ready to go?”

“Yep, ready and willing,”  _ Oof, that sounded weird. What are you doing, Minerva? _

“Then we’re off!” Renata declared. She turned around with a flourish of her hand, revealing that the sundress she was wearing was completely backless.

Minnie tried to stifle a squeak of surprise. This was the first time she’d ever seen Renata in something so revealing. When they were at school they never wore anything less modest than t-shirts. This was her first time seeing Renata’s bare back, one of the most important features of a huldra. In the center of her back was a hole, looking similar to something you would see in the bark of an old tree. Moss grew around the edges and small flowers sprouted in clumps around the periphery. Minnie wasn’t sure how she would feel when she saw the opening for the first time, but now that it was before her it looked quite pretty.

“Coming?” Renata asked, holding out one of her hands and wiggling it playfully.

Minnie simply nodded, silently taking Renata’s hand. It felt warm in her grasp. Their hands swung gently back and forth as they walked down the sidewalk.

“I’m excited for this! Renata exclaimed, looking up at Minnie. “I’ve never been berry picking before!”

“It’s really fun. Tenn, Sophie and I go all the time,” The acres on which the berry bushes lay were owned by some friendly dryads who were fine with the kids dropping by from time to time. It was nice to have somewhere to go where they could be themselves without judgement, the twin harpies and their ghost brother roaming the land freely without worrying that they may run into less than friendly humans. Minnie wanted the same thing for Renata: somewhere safe where the two of them could be themselves together. Though part of Minnie doubted that Renata ever had trouble being herself.

“What’s your favorite kind of berry?” The huldra’s question broke Minnie out of her thoughts.

“Blueberry. My mom makes delicious blueberry pies,”

“My favorite are raspberries. I love eating them raw and letting the juices dribble down my chin so it looks like blood! The taste is good too,”

Minnie chuckled, shaking her head. Of course Renata would come up with a reason other than taste first and foremost. She hadn’t been sure quite what to make of the huldra when they’d first met besides her initial attraction to Renata’s looks, but she’d quickly found Renata to be pleasant company. Things were always interesting when she was around.

It was a short walk to the fields in which the berries grew. Renata handed Minnie a pumpkin basket before running forward with her own to the first bush. This one held boysenberries. Minnie instructed Renata in how to spot ripe boysenberries, explaining that only the dark purple ones would be ripe. The girls picked berries together happily as Renata chattered on about this and that and Minnie chimed in from time to time.

Minnie found herself continuously becoming distracted by Renata’s bare back. The sight of that much bare skin left her flustered, but more than that she was drawn to look inside of the shadowy depths of the hole there. It was difficult to tell how deep it went: a few centimeters, several inches? If it was that deep, what did that mean about Renata’s internal organs; were they all squished together to make room for the hole? And was there anything inside of it? The flowers and moss on the outer edges were tantalizing, seeming to promise greater mysteries within.

“Looking at my back?” Renata’s sly grin proved she already knew she was right. “It’s pretty awesome, right? It’s nice to have it out in the open too. It gets so sweaty in there with my shirts covering it all the time at school.

“It’s really pretty,” Minnie murmured, looking down self-consciously at her own hands hard at work berry picking. She wanted to say more, but didn’t want to risk offending Renata. She knew how much it drove her crazy when people pulled on her feathers or asked invasive questions about which parts of her were human and which parts bird.

“You can touch it if you like,”

Minnie’s eyes shot up in shock at those words.  _ Is she serious? _

“Don’t be shy,” Renata turned her back to Minnie. “You won’t hurt me,”

Hesitantly, Minnie reached out, her fingers brushing against the flowers and moss. They were soft to the touch. “This may be a dumb, question, but do you have to water your back?”  _ Great opener, Minnie. That’s just as bad as some of the things you’ve been asked. _

Renata shrugged. “Sometimes on really hot days I take a mister and spritz back there to make sure nothing wilts, but for the most part they just use my body’s own water,” A mischievous gleam entered her eyes. “You can feel inside too. I know you’re curious,”

Biting her lip, Minnie let her fingers venture inside, moving slowly as she wasn’t sure how deep the opening went. Was there something inside there? Mushrooms maybe, but could it be there was something alive in there as well? Would it jump out and bite her.  _ Renata would never do that… right? _ A few inches in, Minnie’s fingertips brushed against rough wood.

Renata let out a wanton moan.

Minnie’s hand immediately flew back, her face heating up in shame.

“Gotcha, didn’t I?” Renata chortled, hiding her smile behind her hand. “Sorry, I can never resist doing that,”

“H-how many people have you done that to?” Minnie asked, still holding her hand in flustered shock.

“Aw, are you jealous? Only a few, I promise,” Renata’s smile grew quieter, perhaps more thoughtful. “I know I’m flaunting it right now, but a huldra’s back is usually something very private. Most huldras would probably think I’m crazy for showing it to you this early… but I trust you,”

It was a quieter tone than Minnie had seen Renata take before. She felt like there was a story there, one she wouldn’t be hearing today. Reaching for her own forearm, she plucked out one of her looser feathers, offering it to Renata. “I trust you too,” It wasn’t the same level of exposure Renata had shown, but it was something.

Renata took the feather happily, tucking it behind her ear. “How do I look?”

_ Beautiful.  _ “Pretty,”

“C’mon,” Renata grabbed Minnie’s hand, pulling her over to the next bush. “I want to pick as many berries as we can before it gets too hot!”

They worked at berry picking for another hour, the two of them exchanging stories and banter as the day continued. By the time the sun was rising above their heads and beating down stronger, their baskets were full and they were ready to head out. They strolled back hand in hand to Minnie’s house. Minnie was loath to let go of Renata’s hand when she reached the end of her driveway. “Well, this is my stop,”

“Oh, the date’s not over yet,”

“It isn’t?”

“When you suggested berry picking, I thought I’d add my own part onto the date as well. I asked Sophie to get the supplies,”

“And what supplies exactly are those?”

“You’ll see!” Renata guided Minnie up the walkway, practically skipping with excitement. When they entered the house, Minnie was pulled toward the kitchen. There stood Sophie, surrounded by a squadron of pie tins and baking equipment.

“Surprise!” Her twin exclaimed, doing jazz hands. “Renata told me she’s got quite a knack for baking. We figured it’d be nice to surprise you for this second part of the date,”

“We’re going to make  _ all  _ pies!” Renata declared, rolling up her sleeves. “Blueberry, raspberry, boysenberry, gooseberry… then we’ll stuff our faces!”

Minnie felt a smile crossing her lips. “Sounds like a great plan to me,”

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone…” Sophie sidestepped but was quickly grabbed by Renata’s flour-covered hand. “Nooo, stay! It’ll be fun! Tenn can join in too if he wants!”

“Alright then. He can’t really hold anything, but he could possess the mixing bowl,” Sophie ran off to find their brother, looking excited to be included.

Minnie smiled over at Renata, seeing her already hard at work washing her bucket of berries. She didn’t have any reason to be nervous after all. Their first official date had turned out truly wonderful.

“Ready to join in, Min?”

“You got it, Ren,” Minnie grinned as she saw a glimmer of flustered surprise in Renata’s eyes.  _ You’re not the only one who can dish it.  _ With that the girls began the second part of their date, preparing to bake enough pies to feed an army.


End file.
